Aurora and five suburban cities are suing the state of Colorado and Gov. Jared Polis in an attempt to block two land-use bills passed last year that seek to build more housing.

The lawsuit was filed in Denver District Court on Monday by the cities of Arvada, Aurora, Glendale, Greenwood Village, Lafayette and Westminster.

They argue that two bills signed into law by Polis in 2024 — which seek to increase density and eliminate parking requirements near transit stops — violate the provision of the Colorado Constitution that gives local governments the authority to set rules within their own jurisdictions.

The municipalities also contend that an executive order signed by Polis on Friday is unconstitutional. In that order, the governor directed several state agencies to prioritize giving more than $100 million in various state grants to cities that comply with the recent land-use reforms, including those challenged in the lawsuit.

In statements, officials from some of the cities that filed the lawsuit accused the state and lawmakers of stripping local residents of their voice in local planning decisions, in favor of what the opponents called a “one-size-fits-all” approach.

Kevin Bommer, the head of the Colorado Municipal League, accused the legislature and Polis of bullying local governments.

“The city is the one that has the master plan and is making that all happen, and it’s done with their citizens,” Westminster Mayor Nancy McNally said in an interview Monday afternoon. “There’s nothing else but local control at the hub of why we jumped in and said, ‘This is wrong,’ and told our staff they weren’t to comply with those laws.”

In a statement, Polis spokeswoman Shelby Wieman accused the local governments of trying to block housing development, and she said the governor’s office was “confident a court will rule in the state’s favor.”

The two laws being challenged were both passed by the legislature and signed into law by Polis last year. The parking bill directs certain municipalities to eliminate requirements that some developments include a prescribed number of parking spots, which eats up space and drives up costs. The transit bill requires local officials to set goals for denser housing development — and then craft plans to hit those goals — for areas near transit stops.

“It’s disappointing to see certain local governments that have among the priciest homes in Colorado use taxpayer money on a lawsuit that could go toward lowering the cost of housing,” Wieman wrote. “It’s clear this lawsuit is about preventing more housing from being built that Coloradans can afford.”

The lawsuit makes good on local governments’ threats to challenge Polis’ growing embrace of regional land-use reform. Since 2023, lawmakers have passed several bills to increase density, eliminate parking requirements, remove occupancy limits and growth caps, and allow for accessory-dwelling units to be built. Just last week, Polis signed a new law allowing taller developments to be built around one staircase.